"Hipster" doesn't have to be a bad word. Or at least that's what one is led to believe after perusing the press release for the new YouTube channel American Hipster, which yesterday debuted its first Seattle-based episode of American Hipster Presents, a collection of min-documentaries described as the channel's "central series."

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Profiling Rachel Marshall of Rachel's Ginger Beer, the first of five Seattle-based episodes of American Hipster Presents hit YouTube yesterday. New episodes will now be dropped every Monday, and according to the press release will focus on Seattle personalities "Steph Kese and Erin Pollock, the wax artists behind Melting Bodies; Chris Porter and Kayte Olsufka, the two-person team responsible for booking the musical acts at Bumbershoot; reclaimed furniture and fixture manufacturer Michael Marian; and trendsetting bar and restaurant owner Linda Derschang."

Here's the first Seattle episode:

It's no surprise that Seattle has found itself as the subject of American Hipster Presents' efforts, as the American Hipster channel was created by three Seattle natives, David Fine, Peter Furia and Beau Lewis. As the press release details, the "American Hipster YouTube channel is part of a bigger strategy by Google, YouTube's parent company, to change the way in which entertainment content is developed and delivered. For more and more consumers, hyper-targeted content delivered over the internet is becoming an entertainment alternative to cable and network television."

But back to the hipsters, and how they ended up with their own YouTube channel.

From the hype:

So what exactly is a hipster? According to Peter Furia, co-founder at Seedwell, the San Francisco-based digital creative studio behind American Hipster, it's more than just the cardigan-, skinny jean-, and beanie-wearing 20 somethings rolling around Williamsburg and Portland on their fixies.

"We acknowledge that hipster has become a loaded--even pejorative--term, but we think that beyond the negative connotations and imagery, there is something there," said Furia. "Namely groups of like-minded, creative and passionate people who are becoming tastemakers in many different segments of society."

All of that, and not one mention of ironic facial hair. Weird.

If you're intrigued by the video above, on the following page you can find some examples of previous American Hipster Presents episodes, focusing on Philadelphia, New Orleans, Anchorage and Detroit.